One More Time
by DarkHeart89
Summary: Artemis just needed to see Wally one more time, even if it happened to be in a graveyard, in a tree, with a uniform so tight, it made Flash's spandex look baggy. Spitfire, Bette/Richard


**One More Time.**

**Summary: Artemis just needed to see Wally one more time, even if it happened to be in a graveyard, in a tree, with a uniform so tight, it made Flash's spandex look baggy.**

**Rating: K**

**Pairing: Spitfire 3**

Seeing her grave and knowing full well that she was alive was one thing. Hearing her mother speak of how grateful she was for him being there for her was a different story completely. It felt heavy on his heart, seeing her name scrawled in that creepy script that belonged to graveyard headstones, seeing 'beloved daughter' scrawled as well under her name felt…empty. She was not only that.

She was Artemis. Beautiful, skilled, snarky Artemis. Being described simply as beloved daughter did not do her justice. Wally swallowed heavily, his grip tightening on the handles of Paula's wheelchair as he heard her soft sobs of anguish; it was hard to take, to act - like she really was dead.

Sure, she wasn't there, she wasn't in his arms at night, she wasn't whispering sweet nothings in his ears when he had those reoccurring nightmares, she wasn't fretting when he tried to copy her Vietnamese Lit assignments, she wasn't hitting the top of his hand when he tried to sneak a taste of whatever food she had decided to make that day, she wasn't laughing when Wally glared at Nelson because he was hogging Artemis all too long for his liking, she wasn't there to have him make sweet love to her, and cherish her.

And that was the wrong. There was no right in this.

He slowly ran his fingers through his tousled red hair, glancing down at the bouquet of wild flowers he'd gotten at the Flouriest yesterday for her, she was an interesting girl, didn't like roses or lilies, or carnations, she liked wild bunches of flowers with bright colors and a variety for her to individually sniff and marvel in the unique texture of the petals, or the way the smell reminded her of something.

Wally remember the one time when she had been sniffing a sun flower and she had gotten the pollen all over her nose, she had been sneezing all day long because she couldn't get it out of her nose and he have been laughing at her, because every time she sneezed, Nelson would chime in with a bark and look at her quizzically, as if to say, "What's wrong with you?"

It had been hilarious at the time, now it just made his heart ache.

"Paula," He murmured softly, craning his neck down to look at her, "Sh…Should we go?" He asked hesitantly, hoping that she said yes because staring at his girlfriend's fake grave was not something he wanted to do for the rest of the day.

Seeing the sunset slowly, ducking behind the harsh overpowering skyscrapers of Gotham, pulling the last bit of light right out of the town and leaving with the soft glow of the street lights, the overall design of the light dreary, the thick black fence surrounding the graveyard to great a dreary atmosphere that gave Wally Goosebumps, it was getting late, he thought, glancing down at his watch and then back at Paula, who was wiping at her eyes with a satin handkerchief, dabbing lightly and nodding her head along with his words.

"Of course Wally," She says with one more glance at her daughter's grave, hardly able to believe that she really was gone, no longer there to visit her and watch the Vietnamese soap operas that Paula knew well Artemis hated, but had done it for her own enjoyment, she was selfless like that.

Artemis had been a wonderful daughter.

Wally slowly turned and pushed her carefully away from her grave, doing his best not to look back or else he would start crying and he preferred keeping his level of tears to a minimum.

The rustling of leaves caught his attention and he glanced to the side of him, seeing the positioning of leaves change ever so slightly, as a former-speedster, he tended to notice the smallest of details. He stopped, causing Paula to look behind her, at Wally.

"Wally?" She arched an eyebrow, "Why have you stopped?" He shook his head,

"Is it alright if you roll yourself back to the car, I'll meet you there," Wally promised, slowly releasing his grip on the chair and taking a step back. Cautiously, she nodded and put her hands on the wheels, rolling herself out of the graveyard, a bit curious, but decided it was probably because Wally needed a moment alone with Artemis's grave, he was being terribly affected by this too, it was not only her.

She understood completely and rolled away, clutching the cross around her neck and whispered a few words in Vietnamese, "Phần còn lại trong hòa bình bé gái. | Rest in peace baby girl." Her voice hushed and broken as she left Wally.

Wally swallowed, his fists clenching at his sides as he took quick strides as he approached the tree, seeing a fast flicker of movement as something darted down into the bushes. Or someone.

"Hey!" He yelled, running after whoever it was, hot on his, or her tail, seeing bright orange and black spandex slowly turn the corner, not even catching the color of their hair.

Hearing a murmur of curse words, he picked up speed and gave a large leap from his spot, aiming for her as he tackled the person to the ground with strangled yell. Whoever was under him surely put up a fight as they writhed and wriggled under his grasp, seeing blonde hair spill out from behind the mask, crystalized silver eyes staring at him.

"Who the hell are you and why were…you…watching…" He gulped. "Me." His grip loosened on her wrists and he put a little less weight on her abdomen, knowing full well who was under him.

Eyes darted to make sure no others were watching, before the figure pulled off her mask, the apples of her cheeks dotted with the reminisce of tears. He was breathless, the sight of her porcelain face bringing joy to his heart as he leaned down, unable to stop himself as he captured her lips in a fierce kiss, full of passion and love.

Sure, it had only been a few days, but he was sleep deprived and Artemis deprived and having her right here in front of him, he couldn't lose it yet. He had take advantage of the opportunities he was given, and this one was damn good.

The blonde reciprocated the kiss with fervor and vigor, her gloved fingers diving into the velvety touch of his ginger locks, aggravated she wasn't able to make skin on skin contact right now with this modest suit and the way it cover over ninety percent of her body.

She grunted against his lips, his weight on her becoming a bit of a problem when it came to being able to feel him. She pushed him off onto his back, straddling him before he could blink and leaning over him, tossing her gloves to the side as she laid her hands against his chest, blinking down at him almost innocently.

He panted softly, his hands trailing up to run over her covered forearms, over her shoulders, up her neck and trailing over her cheeks, the pad of his thumb tracing softly over the smooth skin of her cheek, mesmerized by her beauty once again.

He swallowed, hardly able to muster words he was so happy, "I missed you." He mumbled, his words sounding like a jumble of consonants to her ears, but Artemis still found it comprehendible.

Artemis broke out in a smile, leaning down to rest her forehead against his, his warm breath ghosting over her face, "Really?" She said, her voice teasing, "Never would of guessed," She tried to lighten the mood, her hand coming up to run diligently over his freckled face, his skin hot to the touch.

Wally laughed breathily, pressing a quick kiss to her lips, her eyebrows furrowing as she smiled, "Fine, fine, I missed you too." He kept looking at her and she sighed, "Even if it was for a little over a week…" He broke out in a large grin, a grin that was only for her and only could be made because of her.

His arms wrapped tightly around her torso, pulling her flush against him as she laughed, her cheeks blushing, "Wally…people could be watching," She hissed, "Imagine what my Mother would do if she saw you in… **compromising** positions with another girl so soon." He shook his head.

"Sent her to the car babe, no big," He shrugged his shoulders. She opened her mouth to speak when she was cut off when a deep voice drawled through.

"Am I interrupting?" Artemis blushed a million shades of red in the least and leaped off of Wally, brushing her suit off, smoothing the wrinkles. Wally, on the other hand, sat up, saluting to Nightwing with a smug smirk.

Nightwing's eyes narrowed, "If this is planning on working, then you can't be doing… **this** all the time." He said this in a particular jealous tone, one that Artemis may not of caught, but Wally for surely did. Wally rolled his eyes secretively,

Artemis, having noticed the tension between Wally and Nightwing shook her head, pulling back on her back. "It won't happen again." She said flatly, holding her hand out for Wally, helping him back to his feet and tugging on his coat.

Artemis then turned to Nightwing, her silver eyes blazing at Nightwing curiously, "What are you doing here?" She asked, as Wally curled an arm around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder with a sigh.

He shook his head, "The main subject most of the time is about your death…and it's harder to lie then I expected." He admitted honestly, folding his arms. Artemis frowned, feeling a bit guilty at his words.

"Sorry."

"It's not her fault!" Wally broke in.

"I'm not saying it was Wally!" Nightwing protested, Wally stepped in front of Artemis and glaring sharply at Nightwing. Artemis glanced around panicking and stepping in between them, pressing a hand to each of their chests and pushing them apart so not to create a fight.

"Whoa, calm your tits boys," She looked at Wally firmly, than glared harshly at Nightwing. "We have a mission here, now is not the time to have a cat fight, capiche?" She said, looking at each of them. Nightwing pinched the bridge of his nose,

"Right." He looked back up, pacing back and forth. "Now, how's it going so far? I see you've made time to come and **visit**." He said the last word seethingly.

Artemis rolled her eyes, "I came to see my grave," She said, with a glance over her shoulder, eyeing the tombstone and getting a little shiver, a chill running up her spine and creating an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Nightwing glanced over, eyeing the slab of rock and sighed,

"So I see." Wally hugged her waist, pulling her back to him and enjoyed her while he could.

Artemis looked at him, "How's the team holding up? I know…Raquel's shower was today," She said, sorrow laced in her voice, remember the hilarious gag gift she had bought with Megan, the "I'm married to stupid" shirt. Artemis had found it hilarious, now it was just a sad memory lingering in the back of her mind. She wasn't even going to be able to go to one of her best friend's weddings because of this.

"Not too good, every one is plotting revenge on Kaldur." Nightwing swallowed, gripping his biceps tightly. Artemis and Wally exchanged worried looks.

Artemis looked at Nightwing, "I'll just have to be careful, try to make them pin it on new girl baddie." Wally turned his head abruptly to stare at her.

"What! No! You can't do that! You'll be in danger!" The redhead hissed, throwing his hands up and hugging her protectively. "Well, more danger." He added quietly, kissing the side of her head and frowning.

Artemis rolled her eyes, "Wally, I can't just let Kaldur die because of me-"

"But you can't die!" He insisted, his eyes going wide as he leaned into her, staring straight into her eyes, his emerald ones distraught and frightened. "I-I can't live without you," He changed his wording, "I **won't** live without you."

Artemis sighed, her fingers coming up to cup each of his cheeks, stroking softly with her thumbs, "Wally, I'll be fine, I'm tough, I'll pull through, ok?" He didn't respond, only looked at her, full of sadness. She frowned and leaned pressed her lips briefly to his, Nightwing's head turning in disgust. After seeing it for five years, it wasn't all too appealing.

"I love you," He muttered, gazing at her, fingers stroking. She nodded,

"I love you too. Forever and always." He broke out in a grin as she pulled back.

"Yeah," He pressed a quick kiss to her lips. "Forever and always." Nightwing scowled at their words spoken and waved his hand, beginning to walk away,

"Finish with your little reunion and head back Artemis, good luck," He stated shortly and trudged away, his eyes focused on the ground. Wally and Artemis exchanged looks and she sighed.

"Why does he always have to be so difficult?"

Wally shook his head, "I don't know babe, I don't know."

After changing in some alley, Richard headed back to Blüdhaven, jogging up to his apartment and unlocking the door, eyeing the blonde sprawled out on his couch, wearing casual clothes as she slept, her chest rising and falling slowly, a magazine perched upside down on her chest.

Richard grinned and strolled over, leaning down and pressing a quick kiss to her lips, making her stir and open her eyes, the soft blue orbs blinking at him. A smile stretched across her face and she laughed.

"About time you came back," She brought a hand up, placed under his chin to pull him back down for a better kiss, pulling him down to her as he leaned over her, her fingers entangling in his hair as the kiss became more heated, electricity flowing through him as he kissed her.

Richard pulled back as she tugged at his shirt, grinning at her, "Love your greeting." She smirked, her fingers trailing down his chest as she sighed contently, "I try." He pecked her lips before pulling her to her feet, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"What are you doing here Bette? Thought I said the key was for emergencies," He specified, arching an eyebrow. She shrugged her shoulders with a smile, tracing a finger across his chest,

"You seemed…stressed, thought I'd surprise you." She explained with a sheepish smile. His eyes widened slightly, his stress was showing? Apparently he wasn't doing as good of a job of hiding his feelings. Bette knew him pretty well though, sure, they'd been dating for a little over three months, but they definitely knew a lot about each other.

He shook his head, "No, really I'm f-" She pressed a finger to his lips, her eyebrows slanting.

"Rich, trust me, I know something's wrong." He opened his mouth, moving her finger to say something when she rolled her eyes, "No, I'm not going to pry," He sighed, nodding and smiling. "You can tell me when you're ready, until then, I'm not worried." She gave an absent shrug, smiling widely.

God he loved her. He leaned forward, catching her lips in a searing kiss, tugging her slowly to his bedroom. She was definitely the perfect girlfriend. Not too clingy, not too distant, but a complete dominatrix in bed and a bombshell. She was just…amazing in many ways.

Usually he didn't get too involved with a girl, but Bette was definitely the exception. She was definitely different from the snotty older girl he remembered at the academy, people did indeed change.

Richard went from Dick Grayson, nerdy, scrawny troller, to Richard Grayson, buff, sexy playboy. And total lady's man. He put Wally to shame. He just was careful not to lead Bette on too much, he still had a few feelings for the former archer and he just didn't want to hurt Bette.

She was too good for him.

But damn, what he would do to be able to kiss Artemis again, except this time, with her breathing. Just one more time.

AN: Dickard is a creeper, but he is definitely head over heels for Betty, he just doesn't realize it! XD BTW, if I have an spelling mistakes, point it out, I'm in a rush, so I wasn't able to read it over, hope it's good~! If the last paragraph is jumbled, don't blame me, blame Word because it's not letting me change it, this is the last time I'm going to try. Review please! :)

~Nat


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